In the automotive aftermarket, a vehicle owner can have the engine management software in the engine control unit (ECU) reprogrammed for increased engine torque and power output and for other desired operating characteristics. If the modified software is not protected from copying, one can easily read out the code from the ECU, copy it into another ECU and successfully run the program. There is, therefore, a need to protect the reprogrammed software from being copied without permission.
A conventional reprogrammed (chipped) ECU allows the user of either running the factory stock engine control program or choosing to run the chipped performance program. However, the user cannot run the chipped performance program at less than 100%, for reasons, for example, that he is worried about an adverse impact the chipped program might have on the engine. He is required to run either at stock mode or full chipped mode. A combination between the two modes is not available. There is, therefore, a need for a chipped performance program that can be adjusted to run less than 100% of the chipped performance levels, or at any point between two performance modes.